Rugby’s a great new option for high school students

Since our USA Eagles played Canada and France in Charleston from 2008 to 2013, rugby has been expanding throughout S.C. high schools. A much safer contact sport than injury-prone American football, rugby provides teens the greatest game in the history of the world as their January-to-June athletic option.

Rugby practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, with Friday or Saturday evening matches held on empty football fields. Some U.S. colleges now offer scholarships to top players.

Wando High School, a nationally ranked rugby powerhouse in Charleston, has nearly 100 players, six coaches and an army of international fans and sponsors. James Island has a fantastic rugby program coached by two South Africans. North Charleston School of the Arts even has a rugby club, as do Lexington, Greenville, Irmo, Charlotte and other nearby cities.

Bishop England is the state’s lone private school offering rugby; this year, every rugby graduate will attend college.

In fact, Bishop England’s rugby team is planning annual trips for students to play, pray and study abroad with other Christian prep schools. The NetFlix documentary “Red, White, Black & Blue” is an inspiring story explaining the exciting fitness, behavioral, and educational incentives that youth rugby tours create for boys and girls.

I urge high school students (and their parents) to consider this magnificently elegant sport.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 4:00 PM.